A senior journalist reportedly drowned after he accidentally fell into the Adyar river in Jafferkhanpet.
C.P. Pradeepkumar, 58, was working with News Today . Police said he tripped and fell into the river while returning from work on Monday evening. He was walking on the bridge towards a mansion in Ekkattuthangal.
Sludge-filled stretch
Locals saw him falling into a portion of the river filled with sludge and alerted the police control room and the MGR Nagar police. Fire and Rescue Services personnel arrived at the spot soon but they could not trace the body due to darkness.
On Tuesday evening, some residents found the body floating a few yards away from the spot where he fell.
The Kumaran Nagar Police rushed to the spot and recovered the body, which was in a decomposed state.
The police retrieved a mobile phone from his pocket, which was used to inform his family of his death. A case of unnatural death was registered. He is survived by wife and two children.
Later, his body was identified by his wife and colleagues at a government hospital. After post-mortem, it was taken to his hometown in Kollam, Kerala for final rites. The cremation is scheduled to be held on Thursday in Kottamukku near Kollam.
Mr. Kumar stared his career as a journalist in Mangalam , a newspaper in Thiruvanathapuram and later worked in Statesman , The Times of India , and New Indian Express in Chennai and Puducherry.
His wife R. Smitha is an IAS officer and is serving as Director in the Department of Renewable Energy, Puducherry.
